Water Treatment Applications
The water treatment process uses coagulants to remove a vast range of hazardous materials from water. In treating water, coagulants help companies remove:
- Organic matter
- Pathogens
- Inorganic matter
- Toxics (such as arsenic, chemical phosphorus, and fluoride)
In addition to water treatment, companies use coagulants in:
- Processing pulp and paper
- Manufacturing textiles
- Mining gas and oil
Coagulants are used to meet a wide range of water quality objectives. Northstar coagulants include custom blended formulas for the specific needs of our customers’ processes.
To determine the best possible coagulant to meet your system goals, your Northstar representative will use available data, bench-scale testing, and process trials.
Northstar representatives have years of industry experience. With our expertise, we sort through the range of coagulant options to identify your best solutions. We help you pinpoint the ideal balance of cost, performance, and safety for your treatment process.
Northstar coagulants can:
- Provide longer filter runs
- Reduce or eliminate the need for alkali for pH adjustment
- Lower amounts of residuals
- Generally have the lowest overall costs of any treatment program
Northstar provides high-quality products, which meet the specifications of the American Water Works Association Standard B408-18 and complies with the requirements of ANSI/NSF/CAN 60.
Northstar’s technical staff is committed to continually developing new technologies to outperform our competitors.
Our proprietary coagulant control system allows customers to automate the coagulant dosage determination and provide lower chemical usage with fewer manpower requirements.
Our coagulant products include:
Aluminum Chlorohydrate (ACH)
Polyaluminum Chloride (PAC)
Polyaluminum chloride coagulants are widely used due to their ability to treat many different types of waste and their wide treatment range that makes them less sensitive to under and over-dosing. They are proficient settling aids, coagulants, and can be used for filamentous bacteria issues also.
Northstar has a wide selection of polyaluminum chloride coagulants including:
- Sulfonated PAC—Good general purpose coagulants
- High Basicity PAC—Useful when pH is already low and/or for reducing caustic usage)
- Low Basicity PAC—Can work well with high organic loads or if incoming pH is higher than desired
- High Strength PAC—High aluminum concentrations for high charge applications
Organic Coagulants
Northstar Chemical’s selection of organic coagulants covers a wide variety of polymer backbone, viscosity, and concentration. Organic coagulants can be very cost-efficient due to the low dosage requirements when compared to inorganic coagulants. They can aid in organic removal and be a much less expensive replacement for latex polymers in certain situations. They do not contribute metals to the solids or effluent and all of Northstar’s organic coagulants are GRAS certified.
Our organic coagulant product lines include:
- PolyDADMAC
- Epi DMA
- Modified Tannin
- Melamine/Formaldehyde
Ferric Chloride
Ferric Chloride is an inorganic, iron-based coagulant that has been in use for many years as a general coagulant. While it can create issues with staining of materials and coloration of the effluent if not handled and dosed appropriately, it can be very effective in certain applications.
Ferric chloride has mostly been replaced with newer chemistries like aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH), polyaluminum chloride (PAC), organic coagulants, and various blends of these products.
However, there are still many applications where it provides the best combination of cost and performance. Your Northstar field engineer will help you determine if ferric chloride is a viable option for your process while balancing safety, cost, and effluent characteristics.
Aluminum Sulfate
Aluminum Sulfate, also known as alum, is a low-cost but effective coagulant for many applications. It is one of the oldest coagulants in use. While it requires a higher dosage than many other options, it can still sometimes outperform newer chemistries in cost.
Alum acts as a mild acid and will depress the pH of the treated water, but this can be a benefit in some applications. The higher dosage will create more solids to dispose of, so this should be considered in the cost and operational factors when comparing it to other options.
By looking at how aluminum sulfate affects pH, solids disposal, chemical cost, freight requirements, filter run times, and effluent performance, your Northstar representative will help determine if alum is the best option for your process.
Northstar’s chemistry and technology innovations, coupled with our on-site application expertise, make us uniquely positioned to meet the increasing customer demand for improved treatment results at a lower total cost.
The coagulants provided by Northstar Chemical meets the following certifications:
FDA, USDA, Kosher, Halal, non-GMO, GRAS, and NSF
For more information, visit our certifications page.
